Sink or Swim
by kiri1
Summary: It's the final night at Hogwarts and Harry's worried his friends will abandon him.... will it be an enemy that comes to comfert him?


Title: Sink or Swim  
Author: Kiri (kiri@straykitty.com)  
Catergory: Harry Potter/Drama/Romance/Slash ^^  
Rating: PG-13 (??)  
Pairings: DracoXHarry RonXHermione (^.^ Couldnt resist...)  
Comments: My first attempt at a Harry Potter fic! Whee! XD I've read the books enough, so hopefully characters are written okay   
(^^;;) As for spoilers, if you havent read the 1st 4 books, you may want to as this story takes place during their 7th year. And YES   
this is a SLASH fic. So if you come crying to me about it, I'll ignore you because you have been WARNED.  
C&C is welcome and begged for. ^__^ (I'll love you forever....)  
Disclaimer: -_- Sadly I am not JKR nor do I claim to be. I'm not making any profit from this story (Ha! Like anyone would -pay- for it   
~_~;) so dont sue me. I'm broke. I'll cry.  
  
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Finally. The End of Year banquet. Harry realized with a shiver that this would be his last dinner he had here, sitting at the Gryffindor   
table in the Great hall of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. His seven years of training in the fine arts of magic would come   
to an end tonight. It was a rather humbling thought.  
He had grown in his long years at the school, into a distinctly handsome young man of 17---soon to be 18 this summer---   
along with his two friends Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger. They sat across from Harry, as comfertable together as any two   
lovers that fate had decided to push together after a long series of trials and events.  
It had turned out that Rons fears of living in his brothers shawdows on entering the school years ago had proved to be false.   
He was not even associated with Harrys name in recognition, but rather basked in his own glory of having succeeded Wood as   
Gryffindors keeper---and he was a smashing good one at that. Not only did his skills alongside Harry on the Quidditch field earn him   
popularity, but gradually his lanky, akward features had developed quite well and he was now a rather attractive young man, with   
piercing eyes and flaming hair.  
Of course, Hermione had been just as successfull at Hogwarts as everyone expected, and then some. She had left guite a   
prominent mark in the trophy room, a fact she would be sure to point out for years. As Ron had been keen to notice in thier fourth   
year, Hermione had blossomed into an attractive young women. Her simple, natural beauty won stares from many of the boys, and   
glares from mostly Slytherin girls. (There had been a nasty incident in potions earlier that very year, involving Pansy Parkinson and a   
sabbotaged Teeth Whitening Potion... the consequences of which were not pretty and kept poor Hermione under Madame Pompfreys   
care for more than a week.) Her brains though still got her the most praise and she had been baraged with owl messengers all term   
with many witching opportunities for her once she finished school.  
Indeed, Hermione and Ron were, in all aspects of the sense, a picture perfect couple.  
Ron sat beside Hermione, his eyes constantly wandering to her face, even as he talked to his classmates around him.   
Under the table, his hand was intertwined with hers, they had both mastered the art of eating with only one free hand. This was usual   
and accepted behavior from the couple, who, once they had professed their love for one another, did nothing to hide their strong   
affection in public.  
"....Yes, and the Cannons have a excellent chance of winning the cup this year I reckon. I hear they're going to be playing on   
dragons... Noregian Ridgebacks I believe..." Seamus was saying before he finally gave up his satire and said in exhassperation,   
"I say Ron, I think I'd be getting more attention from you if I just taped a picture of Hermione to my forehead." A few, including a now   
blushing Ron, chuckled at this joke and rolled thier eyes.  
"I'm sorry Seamus. What were you saying? Something about dragons...?"asked Ron.  
"Oh nothing... just wondering wether you and Hermione had set a date." he replied.  
Hermione leaned over and looked past Ron at Seamus."A date? What do you mean?"  
Dean offered an answer:"Why your wedding date! I need to be sure to get decent dress robes in time!"  
Half of the table heard this and at once burst into laughter as the shy couple turned even redder.  
Harry smiled, looking at these friends that had over the years become closer to him than any family probably could have.   
They had been through so much together, accomplished such great things...   
but now what? Harry faced this question with fear, much like the feeling he had when he first arrived at Kings Cross station 7 long   
years ago. It was such a confusing feeling, full of fear, anxiety, and oh so many other negative yet exciting emotions. It was as   
though he was about to dive into a deep pool of water--so dark and deep it is impossible to see where the bottom is. The fall into   
such a pool would be frightening, but at the same time impossibly exciting. There's no telling if when he'd hit the water whether he   
would float back, or sink. If so... how far would he fall?  
Yes he felt that way when he learned he was going to be a wizard... when he learned the truth about his parents.... and he   
felt the same way now, when he knew he had become a wizard. Seven years ago, he had jumped into that infathomable pool of fears   
and though many things fought to pull him down, to drown him in his own doubts and insecurities, he had floated, brought up by the   
support of his wonderful friends. Would he sink now?   
For seven years Ron and Hermione had been there, dragging him up, helping him stay up. None of what he had done would   
have mattered without them. He was helpless. And now, their last night at school together had at last approached. He would be   
alone again. And from somewhere inside of him a voice whispered almost maliciously: "And now you'll sink."  
  
===================  
  
Harry choked and dropped the fork he was holding. It fell to the floor with a loud clatter that when mostly unnoticed in the even louder   
student filled hall. A few heads turned curiously for a second before regarding the mishap unimportant and turning back to their own   
conversations.  
"Alright Harry?" Dennis Creevy chirped. He had been sitting at Harrys elbow, and more than likely, talking to him the entire time,   
though his voice went unnoticed until now. Harry had gotten too used to just ndding and periodicly saying 'Uh-huh'. If Dennis noticed   
or minded this behavior he didnt show it and just kept right on talking.  
Ron and Hermione wathched curiosly as Harry bent down and retrieved the fallen utensil from the stone ground. Hidden   
under the table for a moment, Harry saw the couples hands in the familiar clasp and furrowed his eyebrows in slight annoyance. '  
They wont be here to stop me from falling anymore' he thought sadly. As he tried to sit back up, he bumped the back of his head on   
the edge of the table.  
"Harry!" Hermione gasped after hearing the explicitive that jumped from Harrys mouth when he returned to his seat, wiping the fork on   
the edge of his robes. He muttered something about drowing and once again focused his attention to his potatoes. Ron and   
exchanged a look that said 'What was that all about?' then looked back at their friend who seemed to be concentrating indeffinately   
on sculpting the scalloped potatoes into an abstract work of art.  
Ron ventured a guess to what was troubling the raven haired boy. "Er... Harry? Is something bothering you? Did Black change his   
mind? Are you going to have to go live with your Aunt and Uncle after school gets out after all? Because... if so... you could come   
stay with me for a bit... I'm sure mum and dad wont mind...besides---"   
"No.... no nothing like that. Black says the arrangements are all made for me to stay with him... the Dursleys have said their good   
riddance.... everythings just... fine." Harry ended by shoving a large heap of his sculpture into his mouth. He choked abit before he   
was able to swallow it all.  
Hermione continued to watch him warily, "Harry..... you know.... just because we wont be in school anymore... doesnt mean we wont   
always be here for you..."  
Harry said nothing and shook his head no without looking up to meet their eyes. Finally, as the last bit of potatoes were swallowed,   
he rose to his feet.  
"I'm sorry... my minds not really here right now...... I think... I still have a few things to pack yet... please excuse me."   
With that he quickly walked from the crowded hall (which gleamed with Blue and Silver... Raven Claw had managed to win this Years   
house cup). More heads turned to watch the swish of capes that was Harry exit, and from the Slytherin table, a boy with Pale hair   
and even paler skin turned his mouth up in a knowing smile as he watched the one thing he had, in his own backwards, coniving way,  
sought to obtain for nearly seven years, walked out -alone- into the vast castle. 


End file.
